No. 2 Ohio State is one win away from a rematch with No. 1 Oregon.
The Buckeyes capitalized on poor special teams play from Indiana en route to 31 straight points in a 38-15 win over the No. 5 Hoosiers.
The teams were tied 7-7 in the second quarter as Indiana looked to punt the ball back to Ohio State. However, Indiana’s James Evans dropped the snap and was tackled at their own 7-yard line.
Three plays later, TreVeyon Henderson gave Ohio State a 14-7 lead.
The Hoosiers got the ball early in the third quarter, but gained just two yards and went on a drive. Evans caught the snap this time cleanly and got the punt off, but safety Caleb Downs caught the ball off the bounce and ran 79 yards for a two-possession lead.
Downs’ TD was a dagger to Indiana’s undefeated season and extinguished any hopes of an upset. The Hoosiers again failed to gain a first down on their next drive, and Ohio State quickly extended the lead to three touchdowns on its next possession.
Indiana was the better team early on. After forcing an Ohio State punt to start the game, Indiana marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead before stopping Ohio State on fourth down deep in the red zone.
However, the Hoosiers soon fell apart as Ohio State began to pressure QB Kurtis Rourke regularly. Indiana was shredded by Michigan’s defensive line in the second half two weeks ago, and once Ohio State’s defense took over, Indiana’s offense couldn’t match the special teams issues.
Rourke was sacked five times and Indiana had just 151 total yards. Rourke was just 8 of 18 passing for 67 yards the entire game after throwing for 32 yards on two completions on Indiana’s first possession.
Ohio State vs. Oregon in the Big Ten title game?
The Buckeyes’ only loss of the season came in October in a 32-31 loss to the undefeated Ducks. A win over Michigan in Week 14 would put Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game against Oregon, which clinched a spot a week ago with a win at Wisconsin.
Indiana, meanwhile, is still alive for a Big Ten title. But he needs help from Ohio State and Penn State’s remaining two opponents. If Ohio State loses to Michigan and both Penn State and Indiana finish the season 8-1 in the Big Ten, Penn State will win the tiebreaker based on the winning percentage of the teams’ conference opponents. Indiana’s only path to the title game includes Ohio State and Penn State, who finished the season with two conference losses.
Is Indiana still in the playoffs?
The big question after Week 13 will be where the committee ranks the Hoosiers next Tuesday. Indiana has ranked behind at least three teams that have lost by one loss so far. How many two-game losing streaks will IU skip now that it’s 10-1?
The best explanation for why Indiana wasn’t ranked No. 2 in Week 13 was the team’s scheme. Washington (6-5) was Indiana’s only opponent with a winning record through the first 12 weeks of the season, and the Hoosiers’ three non-conference opponents were Florida International, FCS-level Western Illinois and Charlotte.
However, the Hoosiers were dominant against those opponents. Indiana entered the game outscoring teams by an average margin of 44-14, and its five-point win over Michigan was its only win within 14 points all season.
How much will Indiana lose the committee to the Hoosiers? We expect Indiana to be ranked somewhere near No. 10 depending on how the committee values the two-game losing streak in the SEC.
An 11-1 record with a big win over Purdue next week should be enough to get Indiana into the playoffs, especially considering the number of two-loss teams heading into the postseason. But the committee has shown that it is prone to wild swings and flexible logic. Indiana’s position on Tuesday will make it much easier to gauge how Indiana fans should feel about their team’s postseason chances.